April 3rd - Day 33

After waking up at Overmountain Shelter Ross, Ben, Coffee Pot, Tarzan, Smuggles and I left around 10:30 (another late start) to Mountaineering Shelter. It was an 18 mile day but we knew there was a lot of people in front of us that were heading to same place. The shelter slept 15 so we thought we would have space. Today's hike was very enjoyable. The weather was good; there was no snow; and we passed an awesome river that went along the trail for a few miles. The beginning of the hike was up some very scenic balds that were famous in North Carolina. You could see for mile. The day was calm and warm. For the past 100 miles or so we have been going across the Tennessee and North Carolina border spending a little time in both states everyday. However, today we left North Carolina for good. It felt great because it was another state we were done with and only had about 80 miles until the Virginia border. Right before the shelter we passed the 400 mile mark. I have walked over 400 miles in just over my first month. Thats a pretty good start. We got to the shelter relatively late and I was the only one to get a spot for the night. I slept on a 3rd story loft that fit 3 comfortably. It was a really well built shelter.